A woman speaks at Friday’s demonstration at The Oval. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor
Roughly 45 students and community members gathered in the cold air outside Thompson Library Friday in a rally against a score of issues.
Organized by the Columbus chapter of the Revolutionary Student Union with support from the Ohio State chapter of the Ohio Student Association, the rally began just after 1 p.m. in front of the William Oxley Thompson Statue.
The protest criticized recent actions taken by the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, commonly called ICE, U.S. intervention in Venezuela, the Ohio State Athletic Department’s partnership with the defense company Anduril, the university’s chalking ban policy and the presence of U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Tuesday’s career fair, which saw significant protest and the subsequent arrest of three individuals, including two students.
The Lantern is seeking comment from Ohio State officials in response.
One of the two students arrested on Tuesday was in attendance — Grayden Hall, a second-year in journalism. Hall was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing at the Ohio Union, according to public records.
“I thought it was really important for me to show today so that everyone knows that you shouldn’t be scared,” Hall said.
Hall said he is not affiliated with any student organizations that were present at either protest.
Grace Metz, a second-year in computer and information science and organizer with the
Ohio Student Association, said, prior to speaking at the protest, she was concerned with the presence of ICE in Ohio and the targeting of immigrants.
Recent ICE activity in the state has included “Operation Buckeye,” which saw more than 280 arrests, according to a DHS press release.
Metz said that her grandfather was an immigrant from Mexico and that her family faced hardship as a result and hearing about this during her childhood is what motivated her to take action.
“Not only am I concerned about people like my grandfather, but also students and my peers who are at risk of being abducted by ICE and forced out of this country, whether through their own will or not,” Metz said.
Metz also criticized the university for hosting U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Tuesday’s career fair.
“The university made it very apparent that they are willing to arrest and charge students in order to protect the individuals [who] are abducting primarily black and brown people from our streets,” Metz said.
Metz said that dialogue between organizers and the university has been “very limited” due to past pushback from the university, mentioning the arrests of 36 during a 2024 pro-Palestine protest as a key example.
“I think a lot of organizing that’s happened since then has been informed by that moment,” Metz said.
According to university space standards, arrests or citations can be made or given after university officials have given warnings to cease prohibited activities.
The final speaker, a member of the Revolutionary Student Union, who declined to be identified, discussed the importance of student organizations achieving their goals.
“The only way to fight these measures is to start bringing together our community today,” the speaker said.
Isaiah Nire, a second-year in finance, echoed this sentiment.
“To see your community out here, it motivates you even more to want to be out here, because at the end of the day, that [community] is what you’re fighting for,” Nire said.
Following the speakers’ conclusion, organizers encouraged the group to march from the Thompson statue to the opposite end of The Oval near the Wexner Center for the Arts, chanting slogans such as “When our classmates are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and “OSU, shame on you! You arrest your students, too!”
The group marched back to the Thompson statue before dispersing just before 2 p.m.
